Life...

has a habit of getting a bit relentless at times.

I think I'm passing through one of those phases.

There is not enough sleep to be had and cooking and housework just seem to be never ending..

Now, I know there are women out there who find housekeeping pleasurable,

who even seek solace in the rhythmic pattern of a day spent pottering...

I just can't figure out how...

Perhaps it's impossible with young children in the house, perhaps it's a state of being that can only be achieved once your children are able to willingly pick up their own mess, and respect the fact that you've already done a days work cleaning the house before they've even got their breakfast in front of them....

Whatever it is that fills women with such satisfaction in housekeeping... I wish I possesed more of it...

In the meantime, life plods on...

A new month came, provisions had to be bought, meals had to be planned....

Frugal is the aim, as always..so the emphasis is on pulses and veggies and lots of good homecooked food...

sometimes I enjoy cooking..knowing that I'm filling the fridge and bellies with good wholesome food,

at other times it's just another one of those chores that HAS to be done.

There are no short cuts here, life is hard, and often times expensive too... so there is no choice but to cook from scratch and with hard core frugality in mind....

This month as promised, I'm sharing some recipes, and one of my favourite standbys are Latkes.

All of my children love them, as does the dh...

the science behind it is simple, it's just potatoes, onions, flour, eggs, salt & pepper

all mixed up and fried in spoonfuls till golden....

I've been cooking these for more years than I care to remember and eyeball it all the time, depending on how many I'm feeding and how many  I want in reserve for the fridge monster (ds13)

but if your a wee bit less than confident without a full blown recipe..

LATKE

6  potatoes

1 Medium Onion
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
black pepper

3 Tablespoons Flour
 Oil for frying

grate the potatoes, and the onion if you're brave enough... though dicing finely or blitzing it in a machine will work just as well... then mix in the other ingredients and you're ready to go...

Some people put their grated potatoes into a muslin or tea towel and wring out the startchy potato juice before adding the other stuff... there is a difference of opinion on this topic for latke makers... and I personally prefer not to do this..

but it's up to you..try both ways and see which you prefer.

of course it's not essential, but one excellent tip is to have a cold glass of milk somewhere close by the stove, cooling latkes should always be sampled while the rest of your batch is being cooked..and if you cook as big a batch as I do you will definately need the sustanance...